OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts scanned or image-based PDFs into searchable, copyable text by analyzing the visual content of each page.

How long does OCR take?

Each page takes 5—15 seconds depending on your device. We recommend processing a few pages at a time for best performance.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. OCR runs entirely in your browser using Tesseract.js. Your files never leave your device.

What languages are supported?

The default language is English. Tesseract.js supports 60+ languages, though this tool currently uses English for simplicity.

Why is the extracted text inaccurate?

OCR accuracy depends on the quality of the scanned PDF. Low-resolution scans, unusual fonts, or handwriting may produce less accurate results.

What is the difference between PDF OCR and PDF to Word?

PDF OCR extracts raw text from scanned (image-based) PDFs. PDF to Word converts text-based PDFs to editable Word documents.

Is my scanned document kept private?

Yes. Tesseract.js runs the OCR recognition engine entirely within your browser. Your scanned PDF pages are processed on your device — no image or text data is ever sent to a server.

How accurate is the OCR?

Accuracy depends on scan quality. Clear, high-resolution scans produce the best results.

PDF OCR — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs Free Online

Extract text from scanned PDF files using OCR. Download as .txt. Runs in your browser — no upload required.

100% Private

No Upload

Instant

What is PDF OCR — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs Free Online?

PDF OCR (Optical Character Recognition) extracts text from scanned PDF files that contain images of text rather than actual text data. Our PDF OCR tool uses Tesseract.js running entirely in your browser to recognize and extract text from each page of a scanned PDF, then lets you download the result as a .txt file.

How to Use PDF OCR — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs Free Online

1Upload your scanned PDF file.
2Select the language of the text.
3Click Extract Text to run OCR on all pages.
4Download the extracted text as a .txt file.

Key Features

OCR for scanned PDFs
Supports 60+ languages
Download as .txt
Runs in your browser using Tesseract.js
No upload required

Benefits

Make scanned PDFs searchable
Extract text for editing and translation
Digitize printed documents
Keep documents private — no server upload

Use Cases

Extract text from scans Best OCR Tools Free PDF Editor Mac PDF to Word Without Acrobat Best PDF Tools 2026

Why Use Irreva for PDF OCR — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs Free Online?

Make scanned PDFs searchable

Extract text for editing and translation

Digitize printed documents

Runs 100% in your browser — files never leave your device.

No account, no sign-up, no subscription — free forever.

Works on any device: desktop, tablet, or mobile.

Frequently Asked Questions

PDF conversion guide

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